Inghams – Acquisition/Integration of Bostock Brothers

The Business Problem/Objective

Inghams required experienced programme delivery capability to complete the acquisition and integration of Bostock Brothers Ltd (Hawkes Bay). The acquisition would help Inghams achieve its objective is to establish Ingham’s as the leading premium operator in the market.

The Fix

Luminate was engaged by Inghams in 2024 to mobilise a team of experienced programme delivery professionals, with prior M&A experience to work with the Inghams executive and lead the programme. The Luminate Team planned and deliver the acquisition and integration of Bostock Brothers Ltd. This programme involved: managing the deal completion process including regulatory and governance approvals; managing the Day 1 transition post completion; and definition and transition to an end state operating model (people, process, and technology).

The Outcome

The programme was delivered successfully over 7 months. Integration was achieved: with minimal disruption to customers; migration off TSA services; integration achieved within committed timeframes and budget; interim and end-state operating model implemented. IT systems were cutover during a single migration event, ensuring minimal disruption to business operations.

Lessons Learned

  1. Post Acquisition Leadership: Previous M&A integration experience is crucial and the ability to facilitate and communicate decisions is key.
  2. Communication: Conveying the purpose of the integration and providing clear direction about change to stakeholders.
  3. Cultural Change: Differences in values, attitudes, beliefs and practices are key risks to any deal/integration programme.  Formulation and execution of strategies to align culture is key.
  4. Planning: Effective planning enables clear communication of the timeline, from which progress can be tracked and demonstrated.  Iterations of the baselined plan must be facilitated through change control.  Key to planning is dependency management and communication between workstreams.
  5. Speed of Integration: Achieving integration in the shortest/safest timeframe possible, fast-tracks financial returns, gives competitors less time to respond, prevents post-acquisition drift and reduces levels of uncertainty, which improves employee retention levels.  Most importantly, integration programmes demand a high-degree of executive attention, which can distract from day-to-day running of the business.

Customer Feedback

“Luminate’s support has led to results which I think have been nothing short of exceptional. The business is running well, it’s delivering on the business case objectives, we’ve successfully cutover our IT systems, and in many respects, it’s a very nice blueprint around what a successful integration looks like. ”

– Ed Alexander, Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer